ON A CAUSE OF FAILURE OF HIGH ALTITUDE PLASTIC BALLOONS.

Abstract

In a search for causes of failure of plastic balloons, an experiment which simulates the stresses and temperatures in part of a balloon during launch and ascent was conceived and then tests using a number of balloon films were conducted. It was found that because of uni-axial preloading at +75F (launch temperature), the strength of the film from the final production lot of DFD-5500 deteriorates strongly at -70F (Troposphere temperature), whereas the strength of StratoFilm is unaffected by it. Since this finding agrees with the flight records of balloons made of these materials it is suggested that before a plastic film is accepted as balloon material it should also be subjected to tests of the type discussed in the present paper. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1967
Accession Number
AD0667192

Entities

People

  • Arnold D. Kerr
  • Harold Alexander

Organizations

  • New York University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altitude
  • Atmosphere (Earth)
  • High Altitude
  • Materials
  • Production
  • Troposphere

Readers

  • Fault Tolerant Diagnosis of Black and White Balloon Isolation Tests Using ¥.
  • Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics of Materials.
  • Theoretical Analysis.